The First Republic

by Starscribe

Chapter 8

We left Gina’s office behind shortly after that. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t eager to leave, though I’d certainly gathered some useful information. Maybe not quite as much as I would’ve if Starlight Glimmer had been willing to talk to me…

“Did you find out what you wanted to know for your book yet?” Radiant Dawn asked, bouncing along beside me. “It felt like you were going to be in there asking questions for hours.”

For the heir of the largest empire in the world, I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved at her casual attitude, or frightened. One thing was for sure: I wasn’t going to question her on it. She’d done nothing but help me since I arrived.

“The questions I wanted to ask her,” I answered. “Everypony has a different perspective. That’s why I had to come all the way out here. Why Twilight wanted me to, rather.”

We stood in a corner of city hall’s upper floor, within a few feet of guards just watching from her door. But they hadn’t interfered yet, and there was no reason to suspect that would change.

“You mean there’s more,” she said. “You came to the other side of the world, where you could do all sorts of amazing things… like learn to fly. But you’re just going to talk and write things in books?” The disappointment in her voice certainly only bothered me because of the fear that I would lose an advocate. It wasn’t at all because I was afraid this creature would lose interest in me.

“I don’t have to do them all at once,” I said hastily, walking past her towards the stairs. Maybe if I got her moving again, she would forget. “I expected to be here for a few weeks. I’d never be able to interview everyone that quickly, and I’m not in a rush to go back to Equestria.”

“Good,” Dawn proclaimed. “Maybe you aren’t completely crazy. Still, you should, uh… tell me who else you want to talk to while you’re here. If I know who they are, I might be able to help you get more. On other days.”

“I think you can guess two of them,” I said. “The emperor and empress have some of the most direct accounts of events that are poorly recorded by historians. Equestria was part of the biggest battles, so I have their perspective on those… but a captain or above who fought in the Migration War would be great to talk to. Then if I can… and I know it might not be possible—I’d like to find someone who stayed behind in Accipio and survived.

“And that’s the interviews I planned. I’d also like to tour your civic buildings, read your legal code…” I was losing her rapidly. “And then travel to New Scythia. There are a few birds still living there I know will have perspective to contribute to the book.”

It worked. Radiant Dawn stopped looking like I was force-feeding her sleeping pills. “New Scythia’s on the other side of the ocean, south of Equestria. With your airship?”

I nodded in agreement. “The captain is prepared to go everywhere there’s information, for as long as it takes.”

“I wanna come,” she said, as we made it back out onto the street. “I’ve never been to the colony before. Are you going to go to the north too? You’ve got to write about the snowbirds too, right?”

Are you asking because you want to go there, or because you think the book actually needs it? But I didn’t actually care about the answer to that question. I could only imagine the headache I would cause for creatures on both sides of the border if I let Radiant Dawn come with me on the expedition. Somehow I didn’t care.

So I nodded. “You’re probably right. They’re in close contact with the Empire, but I should still get them in for completeness. House Vengeance's birds are as much a part of the story as anypony else.”

Dawn nodded approvingly. “I think I can probably… yeah, I can get you in to meet with my father. But you should know—he gets bored easily, way more than Gina does. And he’s also really traditional. You’re never going to get straight answers from him if you’re the one writing them down. You need a scribe.”

And you know one you want to give a job.

“Velar is always reminding me to practice my letters. If I go with you, he’ll think I’m doing what he wants, and he’ll be more willing to listen to your questions. Oh, and if you don’t ask him about war and the military for most of it, you’re going to lose him. Most males don’t care too much about… bureaucracy.” She said the word like it was cursed.

“Sure,” I agreed. I planned on asking him those questions anyway, mostly because I hadn’t expected him to be informed about those other topics as much. “I can do that.”

“My mom is the tricky one,” she went on. “I’m not sure why she got so upset about you, so I don’t know when she’ll stop. Getting a military bird is easy, I know lots of those. A creature who stayed behind…” She trailed off, her tail suddenly hanging flat. She stopped bouncing, speaking low. “You’ll want the vultures. Are you willing to go somewhere a little dangerous? There aren’t any in the city.”

“How dangerous?” I asked reflexively. I would probably have denied the request completely, if I couldn’t see the disappointment on her face again. I couldn’t tell if it was because she wanted to go, or because she thought I was a coward. Right, birds are all brave and confident. She’ll want a creature like that, not like a pony. “I mean… my airship didn’t bring a crew for war. He wouldn’t take us if there was a chance of battle.”

Maybe I wasn’t so ignorant about their customs after all, because that seemed to make her relax. “Not war,” she said. “Ghosts. Every creature knows not to go too close—except the vultures. Are you afraid of ghosts, Contrail?”

“Nope,” I answer, and this time I don’t even need to pretend. Because they don’t exist.

The next few hours passed without much incident. I made an attempt to return to the Daughter of Wintergreen for the evening, but Radiant Dawn refused to hear of it. “You’re staying in the palace,” she said. “If you’re on that ship, they can get rid of you. You need to be in their face. Besides, she already promised. You don’t get to take that back.”

I didn’t actually see her again once we finished arrangements for my stay in the castle—wherever she lived with the royal family required flight to enter, so I wouldn’t be able to join her.

There’s no way that time for flight lessons fits into all this.

The accommodations Dawn got for me were spacious and comfortable, likely meant for visiting diplomats. I hardly enjoyed them though—as soon as I was alone, I went back to writing. There was much to record about my initial impressions of the city. At the rate things were going, this book would turn out to include almost as much about griffons as it did about the Migration War. How could I have gone my whole life without knowing any of this?

I took one glimpse outside my door at night, but I found no guards there. Apparently I wasn’t considered a threat to the castle.

I dozed off late into the night, sketching Radiant Dawn from memory. Strange hybrids of one creature and another ought to look unappealing, right? She had no right to be so pretty.

I woke the next morning to knocking at my door, and a delivery of a simple breakfast. I ate, idly planning my next few days. If there was any confirmation that Dawn had lost interest in me, this was apparently it. I knew it was only a matter of time.

But she arrived as I was finishing up, wearing a strange vest and a military-style cap. “Good news!” she said, tossing a vest and cap onto my desk and scatting papers everywhere. “Father is going hunting, and he’s invited you. We’ll get a whole day around the emperor and his most trusted military birds!”

Hunting? I felt a wave of involuntary disgust, but that feeling only made it as far as seeing her face. Radiant Dawn looked so proud, so eager. And just a little tired. How much planning behind the scenes had it taken to make this happen?

I pulled on the vest and cap, unable to keep from smiling in return. “What are we hunting?”

“Wraiths,” she answered, twisting to one side to expose the silvery gun she was wearing there. Not the bulky rifles that most of the guards carried—this one was slender, and intricately engraved. I was fairly certain I knew the make—that was an Equestrian gun.

“Wraiths are… real?” I tried not to sound too skeptical. But at least this time I wouldn’t be disrespecting the memory of her dead cities. The vest fit a little loosely, even with the buttons up as tight as they would go. But it had to do. I hurried to pack all my military questions away, leaving everything else behind in the bedroom.

“Sometimes they are,” she said, tossing something else onto the desk in front of me. Another gun, without the fancy engraving. This was clearly an Equestrian weapon, with a glowing green crystal instead of a firing pin. “Pretty sure this one is. Can you shoot straight?”

No. I took the gun anyway, lifting it in my wings like some dangerous animal that might attack if I jostled it too much. A unicorn rifle, with a clear plastic magazine. The bullets inside were polished silver instead of copper. Silver for the undead.

The gun slid into its holster pointing up, where it wouldn’t accidentally shoot me in the hooves even when I inevitably screwed this up somehow.

“How often do you go hunting?”

“Never,” she answered, beaming. “But you needed a scribe, so…” She reached across, taking my writing case from over my shoulder. “I’ll need that. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it safe for you.”

If it were any other creature, I would’ve refused. But she was so close, close enough for me to smell the honeysuckle scents she wore. So maybe she was a little like a pony in that way—none of the other griffons smelled like anything more than grease and sweat.

“Hunting wraiths,” I said again, hoping it would sound less insane the second time. I thought about bringing my camera—but decided against it. I wasn’t here as a cryptozoologist. Some other pony could prove this was real. “Where do we go for that?”

“The skydock!” she exclaimed. Apparently that was the signal, because she turned to leave. I followed, only just managing to keep up with her enthusiastic bouncing. “There’s a cargo lift to get you up there. Slow as the melting snows of winter, but… it’ll get there.”

We wandered through the palace, up many flights of stairs, until we emerged onto a huge flat space lined with storage shelves on one side. And on the other, a huge flat bit of wood, kept that way with counterweights on either side. Ropes led up, along a complex pulley system to a dock perched high on the peak above us.

There was a single airship up there, one even I recognized. The Dieus Irae, a warship with bright golden sides and spectacular cannons along its length. There was no gasbag, yet still it hovered in the air, as fearsome as a griffon ship but as graceful as one built by ponies. It was the union of Equestria and Accipio, given form.

A heavy wooden platform thumped onto the ground in front of us, making me jump slightly. There were no railings, no safeties of any kind. Radiant Dawn climbed aboard, grinning at me. “I hope we catch it this time!”

I had no choice but to follow.

Comments

[minibox]

Ah yes, hunting. A way to help Velar cope with the fact that Contrail is a scholar. Maybe bond with him too. Still, Contrail should be a little careful, especially around Radiant. He might become too reckless as to "accidentally" end up in Velar's sights.

“New Scythia’s on the other side of the ocean, south of Equestria. With your airship?”

Nice. I wanna see what happened to the place.

You’re probably right. They’re in close contact with the Empire, but I should still get them in for completeness. House Vengeance's birds are as much a part of the story as anypony else.

Should be careful. Contrail might end up eating a bullet. Especially Radiant if she's going. If she isn't careful it will definitely be "like father, like daughter".

Strange hybrids of one creature and another ought to look unappealing, right?

You tell that to Discord and he'll make you all sorts of "unappealing".

[FanOfMostEverything]

Oh right, this updated several times over the weekend.

Hoo boy. Contrail will be lucky to live through some of the interviews he has planned.

“Nope,” I answer, and this time I don’t even need to pretend. Because they don’t exist.

Welp, someone's getting haunted.

I took one glimpse outside my door at night, but I found no guards there. Apparently I wasn’t considered a threat to the castle.

Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they can't see you.

This is certainly going to be an interesting hunt. Hopefully Contrail's infatuation won't be too obvious.

[minibox]

9697866
Maybe not slavery, but the Equestrians tended to have the last word in regards to discussions about their technological or magical prowess. Velar had a irritatingly bad case of "That's Impossible" syndrome.

[The Great Derpsby]

9697892
Only when they ended up actually showing it. Before that, he'd simply deny it and that was it.

[djthomp]

“I wanna come,” she said, as we made it back out onto the street. “I’ve never been to the colony before. Are you going to go to the north too? You’ve got to write about the snowbirds too, right?”

Are you asking because you want to go there, or because you think the book actually needs it?

Hey, why not both.

Go all out, find a ghost to interview.

But she arrived as I was finishing up, wearing a strange vest and a military-style cap. “Good news!” she said, tossing a vest and cap onto my desk and scatting papers everywhere. “Father is going hunting, and he’s invited you. We’ll get a whole day around the emperor and his most trusted military birds!”

Oh, he is extra doomed.

There was a single airship up there, one even I recognized. The Dieus Irae, a warship with bright golden sides and spectacular cannons along its length. There was no gasbag, yet still it hovered in the air, as fearsome as a griffon ship but as graceful as one built by ponies. It was the union of Equestria and Accipio, given form.

Neat.

[Lithl]

Are you afraid of ghosts, Contrail?”

“Nope,” I answer, and this time I don’t even need to pretend. Because they don’t exist.

Calling it: Ghosts are just the name for crazy violent birds that live in the ashes. Not ephemeral specters of the dead.

[minibox]

9698832
I thought that's what you call vultures? Or am I getting it wrong and vultures are literal vultures? Then again ghosts can be extra crazy birds.

[Truthseeker]

They’re in close contact with the Empire, but I should still get them in for completeness. House Vengeance's birds are as much a part of the story as anypony else.”

Wow, that is an incredibly stupid idea unless you want to be murdered or enslaved. House Vengeance should have been slaughtered to the last bird. They took part in the slaughter of civilians and were only too happy to do so. You won't get anything good out of those bastards.

Because they don’t exist.

Fool. Just you don't believe something, does not make it untrue.